increased siltation, of increased fertilization, of increased pesticides in the coral record. and as we have seen this growth, we have seen major stressors happen is as well and particularly over the last 27 years we have seen this very, very sad decline in the coral cover of the reef. >> "cnn newsroom" continues with brooke baldwin. hey, brooke. >> thank you so much. hello it all of you. happy tuesday. a lot of his back woeers would disagree but mitt romney is out there saying tomorrow's big debate isn't about winning. polls show romney in a close race with the president, but trailing badly in some of the swing states that will decide the presidential election. well, here is mitt romney, we have heard these words before, sounds as though he's downplaying expectations as they say. take a listen. >> people want to know who is going to win, who is going to score the punches and who is going to make the biggest difference in the arguments they make and there is going to be all the scoring of winning and

losing. >> so romney is saying, no, it is not about winning, not about losing, it is about america. but you have a lot of republicans, newt gingrich, for example, saying, hey, mitt romney, get out there, pick a fight, and win it. jim acosta with me now from the romney campaign. the debate, of course, tomorrow night in denver, you, sir, are in littleton, colorado. should we take mitt romney at face value when he says this debate is not about me winning? >> reporter: well, brooke, i think this is all part of the debate expectations game that has been going on for several days now. i think you also sort of heard mitt romney downplay some of the talk that has been going on since the new york times reported over the weekend that, you know, mitt romney is preparing all the zingers for the debate and you heard people saying maybe he's not preparing zingers. a lot of this is the head fake to the head fake to the head fake. of course, mitt romney and the president are both probably working on lines of attack that they'll deliver at this debate. that is sort of standard operating procedure.

you saw that scott brown, elizabeth warren debate last night in massachusetts. this is what campaigns do. this is what candidates do. but i will tell you that mitt romney has been behind closed doors for much of the day today, in debate preparations, brooke, with the sparring partner, ohio senator rob portman. and perhaps the day's most notable development in the day with not very many development is that they just stopped for lunch at chipotle. they put a wrap if you don't mind the pun, on the morning debate session. i'm sorry. i had to do it. >> puns aside, before we start focusing on tomorrow night in den denver, i want to look back at romney and obama. romney, maybe appearing a little more amped up than the president in these sxmexamples. let's watch and talk on the other side. >> you have a problem with al w allowing someone to finish speaking. i suggest if you want to become

president of the united states, you got to let both people speak. let me speak. >> at the time when the war started you said it would be quick and easy. you said you knew where the weapons of mass destruction were, you were wrong. you said we would be greeted as liberators. you were wrong. >> perhaps the president more professori professorial, romney more excitable. do you think we'll see that tomorrow night in denver? >> reporter: i think so. if you listen to both campaigns, i think both campaigns have been advising candidates to work on their own individual liabilities if you want to call them that going into the debates. romney, cording to aides, has been told to work on a more one on one debate style approach, as we saw during the primaries. he more than held his own. and in those debates with sometimes eight or nine other candidates on the stage, and even though you showed romney getting testy there, there were moments, brooke, i was going back this morning and looking at moments romney had during the debates with the gop contenders

during the primaries, he had moments where he took down newt gingrich, talking about that moon base colony at the debate in florida. it was a clear takedown he had of newt gingrich during that debate. and mitt romney has shown, his back is against the wall, he can perform well in the debates. he did that in california with rick perry, did that on a number of occasions with rick perry and was able to put the challengers aside. and, you know if you saw the latest cnn orc poll that came out yesterday showing that the president is just now three points ahead of mitt romney, this race is getting tighter, and i think that falls into what the romney campaign considers to be its playbook at this point, keep it close, keep it tight, get through the debates, and look once again to the economy as the determining factor in this election. >> you know, jim, we heard from kevin madden, the romney campaign adviser on getting romney ready for this debate tomorrow, here's what he said. >> just trying to get the governor familiar with the head to head one on one format has

been a focus because in all the previous debates that we have had, it has been, you know, nine people on stage, trying to -- trying to capture a policy in 90 seconds. the format here is a little different, a little moreting us going back and forth, how the single moderator will be controlling the debate between two candidates. >> so we know, jim, they have been at this for a couple of weeks. mentioned the big news today, i say big being semifacetious, we know romney had chipotle lunch. he's been prepping, prepping and prepping. looking to the next 24 hours, will they really be practicing up until, you know, tomorrow night, 9:00? >> reporter: i think so, brooke. what we're told by the campaign earlier today is that mitt romney will actually do his debate walk through tomorrow

over at the university of denver, so he'll be working on this all, you know, basically right up until the last moment. he had his top surrogates on the campaign trail and romney has an event later on today in littleton, colorado. paul ryan has been pretty busy, almost nonstop, out on the campaign trail the last couple of days. and so, you know, i think he'll let his surrogates do the talking for him until the debate gets started. one other thing we heard from kevin madden yesterday on the campaign plane heading into denver yesterday, brooke, you heard over the weekend, chris christie saying that this race is going to be turned upside down that romney will have such a strong performance that it is going to be sort of a game changer. i asked kevin madden about that yesterday, and he said he doesn't think that the campaign doesn't think that one event, one moment during these debates is going to decide and determine everything. they just don't see it that way. they like christie's enthusiasm, they say they're feeding off of it, but they don't exactly agree with that assessment. brooke, we're all sort of looking to tomorrow night to be

this big moment that is going to change everything and be a make or break moment. it may not turn out that way. it may be a draw. the candidates move on to the next debate and candy crowley gets her shot. >> i look forward to seeing candy crowley. to quote her, she said chris christie did not get the memo when it comes to downplaying expectations. we shall see, jim acosta. we shall see. quick reminder for all of us, tomorrow night, the big night, the president versus his challenger face to face, special coverage here on cnn 7:00 p.m. eastern. so watch on tv, hop online, go to cnn.com as well. also developing this hour, an investigation into the shooting death of a u.s. customs and border patrol agent. this happened right along the border with mexico. this is near the town of naco, another border agent was wounded. but his injuries are not life threatening. 14 border patrol agents have been killed in the line of duty since 2008, including three this year alone. the fbi is investigating.

and still ahead, much more on tomorrow night's debate and this. one pilot calls it embarrassing, seats coming loose on a major airline. but is this part of a larger problem? i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. a husband, a wife, and their oldest son being deployed to afghanistan. >> how hard is this for your family? >> not real sure. i don't think it has hit them yet. plus, the first woman to moderate a presidential debate joins me live. what carol simpson thinks we can expect tomorrow night. and police officers accused of raining a woman, but they press charges against her. now, the backlash. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic osteoarthritis pain.

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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. i don't have to tell you that some families y ies sacrif than mores to serve this country. this story here, by this family out of montana is one for the books. this weekend, when the army

reserve's 652nd ships out for afghanistan, a little girl will say good-bye to her daddy, her grandpa, and her grandma. their story is one you should see. here with it is cnn's kyon law. dinner time means family time at the skillman household, from who is chopping to who's stirring. to who's sitting around the table and who soon won't. how hard is this for your family? >> not real sure. i don't think it's hit them yet. i really don't. >> reporter: a grandfather to three girls, his other title is master sergeant dan skillman, u.s. army reserves. he deploys to afghanistan in weeks, with his wife, master sergeant lola skillman and their oldest son, james, a sergeant. husband, wife, and son will be gone nine months as reserve support at kandahar.

despite the 29 years that lola served, this will be her first time deployed to a war zone. are you scared at all? >> yes. some people say no, they're not scared, they're ready to go do this. but i think in the back of everybody's mind it is a little bit terrifying. >> reporter: at the skillman home where the unpaved road meets a montana big sky, they know about sacrifice for country. lola's father was awarded the purple heart during world war ii. dan's father joined the national guard. dan deployed for a year in iraq. and james almost didn't come home from iraq, when a grenade hit his vehicle. >> the war is not over. we still have a job to do. susie, she -- right now she thinks i'm going to work. and, you know, i won't be back for a long time. >> reporter: susie, his 4-year-old, who can't quite

pronounce -- >> afghanistan. >> reporter: much less comprehend where daddy's going. >> it is very hard to talk to the family about what if you don't come back. that's what everybody knows about going to war. so you try to talk about it, but how can you? >> reporter: the u.s. military doesn't have a specific policy about the deployment at the same time of an entire family unit. in this case, parents and a child. the military says it also does not keep track of how many cases like this are out there, but ask anybody around here, and they'll tell you this is something they have almost never heard of. >> we have so many american heroes in this country that serve every day, it's -- it's enormous the amount of sacrifices that our american families make here and abroad. and they do it for selfless service for their country. >> reporter: the military is called a brotherhood, the skill

mnz pref mans prefer to call it family. >> i'm going with my wife and my son. >> reporter: here and there. kyung law, cnn, montana. >> we thank them for their service, all three of them. what does mitt romney need to do to win tomorrow night's debate and what should he absolutely not do? one historian has some thoughts and safe to say newt gingrich will not agree dayquil doesn'. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief to all your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

professor tim stanley, historian, oxford university, says tomorrow night's first presidential debate is mitt romney's best chance to rally his supporters and re-energize his campaign. stanley's written this new column, previewing the debate. find it if you go to cnn.com/opinion. and tim stanley joins me from london. good to see you, sir. welcome. >> it is a pleasure. >> let's begin with the polls. there are lots of polls, but certain polls show the public expects obama to win this debate. but you point out in your piece that the obama team was to at least convince people that these date d debates really don't matter.

why is that? >> it is interesting that they're trying to spin things that way. my theory is that they're worried that because the president's reputation as a fantastic speaker and he is a good speaker that the audience will be tuning in expecting to see obama win. and if romney just holds his own, if he just lands a few punches, then the audience might actually think that romney won. so i suspect team obama is trying to lower expectations trying to say the debates don't matter precisely because they're worried that mitt romney will do a good job. >> speaking of throwing punches, let's go back to primary season, it was mitt romney really in his big win taking florida that was quite impressive for the former massachusetts governor. let me just -- in case we have forgotten his abilities, take a look. >> i want people to be able to take their insurance with them if they go from job to job. so we'll make it work in the way that is designed to have health care act like a market, a consumer market as opposed to have it run like amtrak and the post office. >> here is what you point out,

tim, which is interesting and it relates to tomorrow night in denver, where the audience will have to be silent, they can't cheer, you say that is advantageous for mitt romney. why? >> yeah. i think it has to do with personality types. i have sympathy with mitt on this. i'm also an uptight rich guy. and when you come from a certain background, you're not used to dealing with big crowds, you're not used to being populist and throwing your weight around rhetorically but you can flourish in job interviews and silent one on one style debates. there is something about mitt romney that he's very, very good at analyzing details, at being critical, at jabbing and landing punches and if the debate is silent, which it will be, if the audience can't participate and it is romney versus obama, no holds barred, i think this guy is kind of corporate analytical background can serve him very, very well. >> you mentioned the rich guy part of it all, and i think, you know, from our reporting with the romney camp, they want to

portray him as an american, as relatable and a lot of people are talking about the economy. it has been a challenge a bit for them. but you point out that really a lot of this race has been thus far on style, on likability, so romney -- romney, what, needs to talk about his family, your words. let me quote you, you say yes, he's tried to do that many, many times before, but there is always hoping that this time it will work. why will it work this time? >> it might work because more people are watching. when he talked about it during the convention, the ratings were really very, very low on that. and he had to share the platform with everyone else. with christie and with rubio. this time around it is him versus the president. and this is his chance to throw out some relatable points, to say things like i'm in public service because of my father. i want to improve the country because of my family. i think if he can throw one or two points like that, he can turn it around. but don't expect him to start crying. his not that guy. he shouldn't pretend to be that guy. he shouldn't pretend to be

ronald reagan because he's not ronald reagan. he should simply run on his credentials and experience. and that's what he'll mostly try to do. >> as you point out, not take newt gingrich's advice and not try to be funny either. tim stanley, we shall see. tim stanley in london. you can read tim's column, go to cnn.com/opinion. don't forget, another reminder for you, tomorrow night, first debate right here on cnn. and of course on cnn.com. special coverage begins at 7:00 eastern time. republicans say a new pennsylvania law is to stop voter fraud. democrats say baloney. today, a judge weighed in. his ruling next. [ male announcer ] the 2013 smart comes with 8 airbags, a crash management system and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety. by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy,

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[ male announcer ] gly nimble, ridiculously agile, tight turning, fun to drive 2013 smart. ♪ in pennsylvania, real voters getting their say trump fake voters casting their ballot. a judge today put a hold on the state's new voter i.d. law. as the state website here shows, the law mandates voters show a

specific kind of identification like a driver's license in order to vote. before utility bill, bank statement, that would have worked as well. but the judge said there is a risk that legitimate voter ballots would not be counted, so he put a hold on the law until the election is over. our crime and justice correspondent joe johns has been following this one for us. so, joe, what happens? walk me through. come november 6th, if a voter doesn't have a photo i.d., then what? >> well, this is just pennsylvania, first of all, brooke. if you show up without an i.d., you will still be able to vote one way or the other. the question is about provisional ballots and whether those provisional ballots, if they're filled out, end up being counted in the state of pennsylvania. so a little bit complicated. but this is being seen as a victory for opponents of the law in pennsylvania, but only for this election. what the judge, judge robert simpson in pennsylvania said, is that for this election only he's blocking the voter i.d. law in pennsylvania, the reason he's doing that is because there is

not enough time between now and november to get protections in place to assure that people won't lose their ability to vote. so the state's cutoff from implementing or enforcing the controversial parts of the i.d. law through november 6th, the general election. this is not necessarily the final word, though, brooke, because an appeal of this decision has already been predicted. the judge issued this injunction, pretty much after being told by the state supreme court that this was his only choice because state law in pennsylvania views voting as a fundamental right. >> so to be crystal clear, there is no chance whatsoever that this ruling could be overturned prior to the election? >> reporter: i can't say that for sure. if you look at the appeal that sent this case back to the judge and forced him to decide it, again, there is dissent in there by people from the supreme court saying, all you're doing is wasting time. you send this back to the judge, he makes his ruling, this is

still an appeals court decision, still has to be made. so, the -- you know, the jury is out on whether the appeals court, the state supreme court has to rule on this again. >> and, just big picture, how important is pennsylvania for either of the president or mitt romney? >> reporter: huge. battleground state, one of the three battleground states we're watching very closely on voting rights issues, if you will. this state, pennsylvania, right now is showing president obama up about 10 points. of course, there are, you know, tens of thousands of people potentially who could be affected by this law, people who might not have the photo i.d. if they show up, and that's what this fight is about. that number of people and whether that number of people could sway the election one way or the other. >> okay. joe johns, thank you. and i know you fly, whether a lot or periodically. reports of seats coming loose on american airlines planes in flight.

brian todd just got back from doing a little investigating. we'll see what he found out next. back from rough economic times. employees are being forced to do more with less. and the need for capable leaders is greater than ever. when you see these problems do you take a step back, or do you want to dive right in? with a degree in business from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to go further in your career than you ever thought possible. let's get started at capella.edu you know it can be hard to lbreathe, and how that feels.e, copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms.

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you have probably heard a lot of twists on the old advertising line, friends don't let friends drive drunk. the one making the rounds today goes like this. friends don't let friends fly american airlines. this comes after reports of seats coming loose during flights. listen to this woman who doesn't want to be identified explains what happened to her on this particular flight from boston to miami this past saturday. >> it was a chaotic experience. the seats flipped backwards. it was actually a complete nightmare. and so people were essentially on the laps of the passengers behind them. >> on the laps of the passengers behind them. now listen to the pilot of that plane calling for help. >> passenger seats rows 12d, e

and f came loose out of the floor. we don't want that thing flying around and hurt the passengers behind them. the seat is loose and can rotate pretty quickly. >> obviously this kind of thing happening once is a nightmare all of its own. but how about these reports now of two other recent american airlines flights having seats with passengers in them coming loose. here is what american airlines is saying in a statement, quote, an initial internal investigation into why a row of seats became loose on two american airlines boeing 757s has indicated that there could be a possible issue with a certain model of seats and how they fit into the tracking used to secure the seats. american airlines says it grounded eight planes, all boeing 757s, to then reinspect them. brian todd, i want to talk to you. you've been tracking this story for us last, you know, 24 or so hours. just finished talking to the faa. what are they telling you? >> they're telling us, brooke, they're also investigating this and they said that in at least one of those incidents there were other rows of seats that

were also loosely moored down essentially that were not properly secured. an faa official confirming that about eight american airlines 757s have been temporarily grounded while inspected for possible other, you know, seat problems or other issues relating to the seats in other parts of the planes. they're looking at all of it to see exactly what went wrong. we have been talking to safety experts and others too, one safety expert told us that, you know, american airlines has been doing some retro fitting work on the maintenance of its planes and it could be a problem with the actual stancions of the streets not going in properly. this is being looked at as it relates to these incidents. we have confirmed two incidents took place, one on saturday and another one yesterday morning, a flight from jfk airport to miami had to go back to jfk because of the same problem, a row of seats came loose and passengers were

obviously in a state of discomfort. no one injured in either of these incidents we have to say. >> thank goodness. >> clearly a disturbing pattern here and it may be -- may be just a maintenance issue at this point. >> i'm hearing could be the airline. i'm hearing it could be the particular kind of plane, the boeing 757, it could be the seats. which is it? does the faa even know and what is american airlines going to do about it? >> well, american is certainly going to look into this problem and faa is looking into it as well. everybody is kind of inspecting these planes to find out exactly what it was, and who it was actually who did the maintenance work on these. the faa does say that the information they're getting indicates that both of these aircraft had recently undergone maintenance during which the seats had been removed and reinstalled. so that could be a problem with the maintenance companies that were hired to do this work to remove the seats to do any kind of maintenance. the reinstallation of the seats may have been an issue. again, i talked to a safety

expert who said they had fasteners for the tracks of the seats, that go into tracks on the floor. you've seen those tracks on the floor of these planes where the seats are. and they go into the tracks, this are fasteners that apply to the tracks. that could really be where the problem lies here, that they just weren't fastened properly or it could be that they don't fit properly. >> wherever the problem lies, for the sake of anyone traveling, they need to fix t brian todd, you're on it. we'll be watching in "the situation room" with more of your reporting. thank you, sir. now to something i'm excited about having this conversation here, she's the woman, she changed the standard really quite literally changed the face of presidential debates. >> my name is carol simpson. and i will be the moderator for tonight's 90 minute debate. >> the first woman to moderate a presidential debate about to join me live on what she would like to see changed. carole simpson, next.

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imagine growing from the highest point in your life to the lowest point in a snap, the fraction of a second. think about it if you're given the second chance to prove yourself. this is what adam greenburg gets to do tonight. oh! ouch! seven years ago you see that ball smack his head. this was his first at bat, his first, you know, major league baseball debut. slammed in the head. he was pinch hitting for the chicago cubs when he got nailed. you saw by the fastball. now, the florida marlins, the very team that hit him in the head, have signed this player to a one-day contract today. >> this campaign and this at bat is a success already. so the result of what happens on tuesday, it is one at bat, but obviously it is resonated with so many people, showing the power of the human spirit, the power of perseverance, and just staying positive and not letting yourself stay down.

>> greenberg's big moment is tonight in south florida. his one at bat, a lot of the nation will be routing for your one in a million shot, good luck to you. wi want to pass along an update on what has been an heart breaking and maddening case of child abuse. remember the story, mitch comber, he was the young man, found wandering around this los angeles bus station, disoriented, even less than small for his age, which by the way is 18, 5'3", under 100 pounds, mitch was so pale, one witness described his skin as translucent. i talked to the district attorney for mitch's hometown recently, that's dallas, georgia, and he told me how this young man came to be all alone at that bus station more than 2,000 miles from home. >> on his 18th birthday after he had been kept in his home here

in dallas for several years, in a room by himself, such that the neighbors didn't even know there was a boy living in the home, on his 18th birthday, his adoptive father put him in a van and drove him to mississippi where he put him on a grey hound bus, gave him $200 and a list of homeless shelters in los angeles. and turned around and came back to paulding county. >> here is the update. how about a little good news for a change? mitch has been taken in by this family in georgia. cnn affiliate wsb quotes investigators as saying he's gained ten pounds in a week, been given glasses to replace the ones that were taken away from him years ago. his sisters are in protective custody and mitch's mother and stepfather are in jail, charged with child cruelty for allegedly locking him in his room and underfeeding him for years and years. they go to court thursday for a bond hearing as we say, we can do better.

coming up next, talking to first woman ever to moderate a presidential debate. her thoughts on president obama and mitt romney's big showdown tomorrow night, denver, colorado, carole simpson, such a pleasure, such an honor. she'll join me live next.

well, we went deep into the vault for this one here at cnn. the date was october 15th, 1992, presidential debate nearly 20 years ago, to the day. remember this? >> the candidates are the republican nominee president george bush, the independent russ perot, and governor bill clinton, the democratic nominee. my name is carole simpson. and i will be the moderator for tonight's 90-minutedebate. >> 90-minute debate, she says. that is carole simpson then. and here is carole simpson today. once again, the lady in red. carole simpson, amazing seeing you here, 20 years later,

welcome. you know, all kinds of history made that night. you and i were talking on the commercial break, people recognizing you all around the world in the 20 years since. and it was unique about that night, the three debaters, not the usual two, you had, my goodness, questions from the audience, you had yourself, you're the first woman to host a presidential debate. just -- if i may, first question, perspectivewise, you presided over history, did you not? >> i did. and that was the most exciting -- it was the pinnacle of my career to be able to moderate a presidential debate that is like every reporter's dream in washington is to have that opportunity. so i was thrilled. and i don't like you talking about digging way deep into the archives. you're making me so old. >> i'm sorry, carole simpson. you look amazing. you look amazing. i hope i can look as amazing. let's fast-forward 20 years later because you've been

tweeting about these debates looming now. i checked out your twitter page. your most recent tweet was this, let me read it for you. debates will be about style, not substance, despite what campaigns say. does he look and sound good? is he personable? that is your winner. so style over substance, is that, carole, is that prediction based upon your experience as a one-time moderator or do you think there is something specific to this race and these two gentlemen, these two candidates that you think it will be more about style? >> it's my observation, brooke. i have been covering presidential campaigns since 1968. and humphrey and nixon. so i've been watching debates throughout the years, and it's my super bowl. i mean, i get all excited. i'm so thrilled that the debate is tomorrow, i can hardly wait. so i have observed many of the debates, not just based on my experience, but there is always something, people, after i did

the debate, would come and tell me that they were concerned about things that the candidates did. >> like what? >> not what they said. >> like looking at a watch? >> like george bush looking at his watch, and standing near his stool the entire debate. and bill clinton wading right up to the audience questioners showing his compassion and feeling for these people. and it jumped through the screen. and i've had people -- i've had people, you know, these days, telling me, i want to see how they do. it is not -- i want it hear what they have to say about how to solve the economy. they want to see how they do. and i think a lot of things -- the conventional wisdom is that all the debates do is reinforce your ideas about a candidate that you support, or don't support. but there are -- i think there

is room that somebody can do something or say something that will really turn people off. and that's what happened with george bush. >> yeah. >> whom ied amir ed amiadmire a >> they were pretty quiet the last couple of days, perhaps practicing memorizing numbers and facts and zingers, but really it is interesting that you point out that -- >> what was that about? >> what is that about? what do you think that is about? >> romney is practicing zingers? he's not very funny. i mean -- >> newt gingrich says he should be funny. you say no? >> i've watched him. i was in iowa. and saw his campaigning there. and he tries to be funny. it just doesn't come through. >> but what about for the president? some say he could be a tad too professorial or cool which can be a turnoff for some americans. >> he can. and he was that way in 2008.

but look at what's happened in the four years. he's been on letterman. he's been on leno. he's been on the view. they're doing all of these shows and i think he's much more comfortable in his skin. when he sang the al green song, you know, here is a man that -- >> you know what, carole simpson, there could be americans saying that's great, he can hum a tune, but, you know, can he fix the economy? but i hear you, i hear you, i hear you. you've covered this and you know this. my final question is this, how are the rules set and do you as a moderator get a say? >> no. i was only given five days notice when it was announced that i was going to be the moderator. they announced them in august, so they had plenty of time to prepare. and i was given a 30-page memo by the commission on presidential debates of what the ground rules were for my debate, the town hall format.

and everything, to every detail, how many cameras, what the camera angles are -- >> godid you sleep during those five days? >> i studied during those five days. i knew every candidate's position on every issue that could possibly come up. and i studied the richmond area where these voters were coming from to find out things they were interested in, what was in the local news. so i felt that i had to be completely prepared because my job was to see that the people got answers to their questions. so i had to follow up and i had to point out contradictions, you know, if i found them. but the disturbing thing to me was that i didn't get to ask my own questions. and i really wanted to ask some questions. and i'm disconcerted that candy crowley, who is a great political reporter, one of the best in the nation, i've known her for 30 years, she's not going to be able to ask her

questions either. so my feeling is that we are being marginalized, that women are being marginalized, either in doing the town hall debate with the people, where they don't get to ask their questions, or doing the vice presidential debate like my other friend, martha raddatz. >> still in 2012, but so proud of candy, you say, you wish she gotten a debate in which the moderators ask the questions. >> she could ask the questions. >> i hear you. she's a smart cookie that candy crowley. >> she is. >> she is. carole simpson. >> the men are going to be able to go one on one. >> one day, one day it will change. carole simpson, i appreciate it. i'm sure you still pinch yourself for what you've done and you truly are an inspiration for us lady journalists and we appreciate it. thank you, carole. >> thank you so much. we can -- moving along, we can show you all the video from the fighting inside syria. but few can attest to seeing the destruction firsthand and you're about to get that account from a

man who just returned from the devastation, from the capital city of syria, that being damascus. here he is, nic robertson in the studio, joining me next. oh no, not a migraine now. try this... bayer? this isn't just a headache. trust me, this is new bayer migraine. [ male announcer ] it's the power of aspirin plus more in a triple action formula to relieve your tough migraines. new bayer migraine formula. -oh, that's just my buds. -bacon. -my taste buds. -[ taste buds ] donuts. how about we try this new kind

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to learn about medicare plans that may be right for you. call now. ♪ let's talk about syria. video shows a man blindfolded, bound, unshaven and tired. it is a shaky video. the man in green is under force, the sight brings major relief to the family of austin tys, a freelance journalist, working in syria, went missing sometime after august 11th, the last time stamp of his last tweet. his employers have identified him in this video. and his father tells cnn, quote, knowing austin is alive and well is comforting to our family. though it is difficult to see our eldest son in such a setting and situation as the one depicted in the video. it is reassuring that he appears

to be unharmed. i want to bring in our own senior international correspondent nic robertson who just returned from damascus. we usually see you in war zones, a pleasure to have you safe and sound in the studio. can you just run through your most recent trip and you've been to syria multiple times, leave it there, having been in damascus, what was that like? >> you know, you go there expecting the war to be happening in the center of the city and it isn't. there is a bubble not affected. you can be standing in the center of the city and see the smoke, hear the shelling, feel the shelling in some cases, heavy shelling. you can go to those neighborhoods but can't get in, there are so many checkpoints around there. it is a huge contrast, but the takeaway is that this government is still strong in and around the capital. >> we have been reporting in the last 18 or so months what is the number, 28,000 syrians have been killed during this civil war, since last march. we have shown the pictures from aleppo and places like that. then you talk to the women, getting manicures, in the

capital city of damascus, who aren't necessarily pro assad, who aren't necessarily pro rebel, stuck in the middle. here is that they told you. >> on many days the death toll around the capital far higher than for other cities. but where they can, people are trying to hold on to their old lives. for this woman, that's a few minutes at the beauty salon. it may look like normal life, but it is not. >> every day we hearing this boom, boom. and everything else. and there is a lot going on. >> you don't worry about it? >> i worry. i worry sick about it, but nothing we can do. >> reporter: she tells me she hates the killing, supports neither government nor rebels. wants them to talk, feels stuck in the middle. so too the salon's owner. >> i cannot go to the country

side without being worried somebody will stop me. is it the real army or the other army stopping me? what answer i should answer if they ask me with whom i am? so it is really difficult now because you are really stuck in the middle. >> it is just bizarre, seeing these women, are they desensitized to what is happening? >> i don't know. when i went there earlier in the year people were afraid about what the war was going to look like. they knew it was coming but how was it going to affect their lives, was it going to be over in days, would they be run out of their homes. in central damascus, you see people and they are through that phase of fear, they have been through bad days of the shelling, of the fighting, shortages in the stores. things are operating almost like normal. and while the stress grows, they hear shells flying over their houses at night, going to the poorer neighborhoods -- >> do they flinch? >> they're very afraid. their kids are awake at night, what do we tell our kids? they had to change where they

send their kids to school. these are well off, affluent people, but haven't decided to flee yet because things haven't got that bad. one told me, if i couldn't find another school close to home for my child, they didn't have a long commute to school, then i would have left. so people are making really practical decisions based on the security situation around them. but they get on with their lives. and -- >> is that a good thing? >> yes and no. look, these are people that do not support the regime they don't support the opposition, but they do fear what insecurity and instability would look like. they fear chaos. they fear islamist radicals that are increasing in numbers in the country. so if there is going to be a fight to the victory in this country, people like that are going to be burnt out of their homes as well, they'll be suffering civilian casualties the same as the poorer neighborhoods. is it a good thing, yeah, it gives us hope there is still some stability, the city, the capital hasn't fallen, if you can find a negotiated solution, the civil service infrastructure

hasn't broken, the army is still in tact and you can try to move the country forward. imagine what happens if the fight comes to the capital, the government collapses, the army disintegrates, it is going to be chaos. there is concern. >> to hear the word hope and syria in the same sentence, i don't think i've ever heard that. we hope for that. nic robertson, if and when you go back, stay safe. thank you very much. >> thank you. now hour two. as we roll on, hour two, i'm brooke baldwin. the focus here, shifting to the political world. that being denver, colorado. site of the first presidential debate. it is also where we find our chief national correspondent john king. john king is there for us. john, we know you have presided over debates, moderated debates. let's talk about tomorrow's showdown. president and mitt romney been spending a lot of time getting ready over the past couple of days, weeks in some cases, of course, and they know the issues, they know the arguments, know the criticisms. why the intensity in the practice sessions? >> reporter: well, why the intensity, number one, because it is a very competitive race.

yes, we have seen a bit of a trickle in the president's favor, especially in the key battleground states, brooke, but this say very competitive race, five weeks left, the first debate sometimes is the most important debate. why the intensity? number one, for governor romney, he needs to indict the president's economic record, make the case the president has failed to create jobs, to create a strong recovery of the united states, but has to be careful as he does that, he can't be too mean or too nasty because even voters who say they might vote against president obama like him as a person. his challenge is to be tough, but not mean. and the president's aides what they worry about is sometimes the president can seem dismissive of criticism, sometimes in a word, smug, so we're told both senator john kerry playing mitt romney and senator rob portman playing the president have been pretty tough, pretty tough on the candidates in these practice sessions to try to help them prepare for what can be pretty stressful high pressure moments on that debate stage. >> i can't imagine. and specifically in colorado, one of the big issues there, immigration, mitt romney making news in talking to the denver

post that, you know, if and when he's elected that he would not revoke that executive order that president obama recently issued, you know, to protect some illegal immigrants and documented immigrants who came here as young children. let me quote, in romney's words, the people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two year visa should expect it will continue to be valid. i'm not going to take something that they have purchased. what does that tell you, when you read into that, is he marching toward the center here? >> reporter: well, it tells you that he's politically being smart. it also tells you, brooke, why didn't they do this at the very beginning? remember the controversy, when the president decided to take executive steps to help the dreamers, if you will, to say that the administration would prioritize deportations in a way that they would be protected that they would stay in the united states, and he issued that executive decision, everybody asked governor romney what would you do on day one if you become president next january, what would you do? would you revoke that, kick them out of the country and they wouldn't give a straight answer

for the longest time. he kept saying we're going to have a comprehensive policy, move as quickly as possible to get congress to pass a comprehensive policy knowing full well he was the governor that it takes time to pass legislation, it takes time to pass controversial legislation. they wouldn't answer the question then. now he's answering it. if you have such a permission to stay, he will let you stay while they have the policy debate, absolutely. he knows latino vote, younger votes could be the difference for president obama. he's trying to chip into that advantage. but the part that makes you scratch your head is why didn't you say that in the first place. >> the timing, the timing. john king, let's talk money. big, big money, karl rove's american crossroads conservative super pac buying $11 million worth of tv ads across eight different swing states. straightforward, you know, the ad talks about unemployment, a lot of numbers here, rising government spending, what is the strategy? why the huge buy-in and why now? >> reporter: why now, because we're into crunch time. there are five weeks left, brooke, and the romney campaign is behind a few points in some

of the battleground states, behind a handful in ohio, florida, maybe more in virginia, six or eight in wisconsin. republicans dispute some numbers but no question a dead heat in colorado. a number of super pacs are going in with heavier spending, trying to influence voters and do that after the debate. if romney turns in a strong debate, you hope you have an economy ad that helps governor romney build on any momentum out of the debate. number three, both campaigns and friends, democratic super pakz and republican super pacs have to make tough decisions over the next three weeks, five weeks left in the campaign, but over the next three to four weeks you have to make decisions not only where to spend money and spend more money, but where to take resources out. that's the toughest decision to campaign. not necessarily where to spend, it is where not to spend. when you have a big buy like this, then you poll, you see if you're moving the numbers. and in some of states you'll keep the ads, some states, watch in a week, ask have they pulled out? that will tell you something.

>> crunch time indeed, john king, thank you for us in denver. no pressure as millions, millions will be watching tomorrow night's first presidential debate. all comes down to the two men on stage, the public will perceive one of them is the winner as we have seen in history, one line, one line can make all the difference. anderson cooper takes a look back. >> i've been there -- >> reporter: september 26th, 1960, the first televised presidential debate, signaling a new era where apirpearances matr more than ever and gaffes are magnified. john f. kennedy facing off against richard nixon, a fierce debater. but on screen, kennedy looks cool and calm. while nixon looks uncomfortable, sweating profusely under the hot studio lights. >> i think i better shave. >> reporter: nixon flounders under the glare of television for all four debates. kennedy goes on to win the election. in 1976, president gerald ford makes this blunder in his debate with georgia governor jimmy carter. >> there is no soviet domination

of eastern europe and there never will be under a ford administration. >> i'm sorry, could i just -- >> reporter: the remark becomes a central theme in carter's campaign. and is blamed by many for costing ford the election. in 1980, ronald reagan repeatedly attacked by president carter for his stance on health care. >> governor reagan, as a matter of fact, began his political career campaigning around this nation against medicare. >> reporter: but reagan wins fans and the election by staying cool. >> there you go again. >> reporter: four years later, president reagan again uses humor to handle attacks on his age during his debate with wo walter mondale. >> also, i will not make age an issue of this campaign. i'm not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. >> reporter: in the next election, democratic candidate michael dukakis is asked this controversial question in his

debate with vice president george bush. >> governor, if kitty dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer? >> no, i don't, bernard, i think you know i oppose the death penalty during all of my life. >> reporter: the public sees his answer as cold and dispassionate. and that very night his poll numbers dropped. during the 1988 vice presidential debate, republican senator dan quayle's comparison of john f. kennedy elicits this blistering response from his opponent. >> senator, you're no jack kennedy. >> reporter: body language plays a part in the presidential debate in 1992, george h.w. bush deliberately looks at his watch and pays for it when the audience and voters see it as disrespectful. >> there are differences. >> reporter: body language makes a difference in a debate between al gore and george w. bush as well. gore sighs over and over again and bush surprises by winning the debate and the election. both president obama and

governor romney are seasoned debaters, and expertes say neither are prone to making major gaffes. but if there is one thing that history has taught us when it comes to presidential debates, expect the unexpected. anderson cooper, cnn. once again, the night is tomorrow, the president versus his challenger, face to face, special coverage begins at 7:00 eastern, right here on cnn and on cnn.com. a lot more news developing this hour. watch this. america's top guy in afghanistan says he will not allow troops to be murdered. but do these insider attacks mean a change in strategy is coming? i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. one pilot calls it embarrassing. seats coming loose on a major airline. is this part of a larger problem? plus, carol simpson, the first woman to moderate a presidential debate tells me what to expect tomorrow night.

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in pennsylvania, real voters getting their say, trumps fake voters casting a ballot. a judge today put a hold on that new voter i.d. state law. and as this commercial shows, the law mandates people show a drive e i.d. like a driver's license to cast a vote. >> if you want to vote, show it. >> show it. >> show it. >> now you don't have to. utility bill, bank statement will still work for this upcoming november 6th election. this judge said there appeared to be a risk legitimate voters ballots would not be counted so he put a hold on the law until the election is over. and pennsylvania's law is just one in a string impacting the november elections. with that, here is cnn's deborah feyerick. >> reporter: it is a scene that played out in states across the country. civil rights groups pushing back against voter i.d. laws enacted

by republican controlled legislatures since 2010. >> the effort to change the rules of the game at the last minute is a really misguided effort. >> reporter: wendy wiser is with the brandon center for justice and warns hundreds of thousands of voters may not have necessary i.d. they include the elderly, college students, poor people, blacks and latinos, groups that traditionally vote democratic. >> we need to do everything we can to ensure that there is no fraud in our elections, but what we shouldn't be doing is passing unnecessary laws that needlessly exclude thousands or hundreds of thousands of eligible americans from participating equally in our democracy. >> reporter: the new voter i.d. laws protect only against voter impersonation. in pennsylvania, a traditional swing state, lawyers for both sides admit no known cases of in person fraud. still, it is a problem says conservative columnist john fund, an expert on the subject.

>> if someone walks in and votes in the name of a dead person and doesn't have to show i.d., how likely is the dead person to complain, we'll never know. unless they confess, the crime is perfect. >> reporter: state and federal courts and the justice department have blocked voter i.d. in three states. texas, wisconsin and south carolina, which is currently appealing. now, pennsylvania is blocked for this election. alabama and mississippi need justice department clearance. the voter i.d. will be in place in tennessee and kansas in november. >> do we want to make it easy to vote or make it hard to cheat? we can do both. >> reporter: with both sides fighting against any voter being disenfranchised in november, neither is willing to give up a single vote. and brooke, this say pattern of pushback. the judge did an about face. initially the judge refused to block voter i.d. saying there is no evidence that anyone would be disenfranchised. it goes to the pennsylvania supreme court, the court says no

one will be disenfranchised, prove it. the judge circles back around and said, actually, i thought a lot more people would have voter i.d. by this point, but of the 100,000 who don't, only 11,000 have actually gotten it. so this really sort of is a victory for the people of pennsylvania and the aclu, the people who did not want these voter i.d. laws enacted. the injection is only for this election. and there is still going to be a trial to see whether in fact it is even constitutional. but right now, those voters who thought they might be disenfranchised, it is less likely. brooke? >> we'll see what happens after november 6th. deborah feyerick for me, deborah, thank you. and guess what, you may have money coming to you. let me say that again. you may have money coming to you. one credit card company will be refunding $85 million to its customers. we'll tell you who qualifies next. you've been busy for a dead man. after you jumped ship in bangkok, i thought i'd lost you. surfing is my life now. but who's going to .... tell the world that priceline has even faster,

easier ways to save you money. . . on hotels, flights & cars? you still have it. i'll always have it. so this is it? we'll see where the waves take me. sayonara, brah!

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anyone who flies has a horror story or two to tell. but i bet your horror story is nothing like this woman's. >> it was a chaotic experience. the seats flipped backwards. it was actually a complete nightmare. and so people were essentially on the laps of the passengers

behind them. >> on the laps of passengers behind them, she says. she is talking about an american airlines flight, last weekend, from boston to miami. she said she was simply too traumatized to show her face. and there are now reports that possibly three recent american airlines flights had the very same problems. seats with passengers in them coming loose. listen to the pilot on that boston to miami flight explain how he was trying to deal with, well, we'll call it an out of the ordinary emergency. >> passenger seats, rows 12d, e and f came loose out of the floor. we don't want that thing flying around and hurting the passengers behind them. the seat is loose and can rotate pretty quickly. >> american airlines did release a statement, let me quote it for you here. an initial internal investigation into why a row of seats became loose on two american airlines boeing 757s has indicated there could be a possible issue with a certain model of seats and how they fit into the tracking used to secure

the seats, end quote. american airlines also says it grounded eight planes, all of them boeing 7575s, the airline says the planes are being reinspected. and a quarter of a million american express customers could expect refunds. the consumer financial protection bureau blames the company for deceptive practices over the past decade, total refunds, ka-ching, $85 million. alison kosik is live at the new york stock exchange. that's not chump change. what exactly did american express do, first of all? >> okay, so what the cfpb says is that amex went ahead and conducted these deceptive lending practices. if it doesn't sound familiar, it should. it is something we heard a lot about during the recession, it led to the mortgage meltdown. so the cfpd was created to crack down on that. this year alone, discover and capital one, they had to refund customers for deceptive practices. in this case, with amex, they charged people late fees that were above the legal limit and

says telemarketers misled customers, told them they get 300 bucks for signing up for the blue sky credit card. that didn't materialize. also, amex said the cfpb discriminated against new applicants based on age. they're refunding customers $85 million. 250,000 people. >> so the question people want answered, how do they get their money? >> the money will go directly in their accounts. if they're not amex customers anymore, the company will mail those people checks. the amount of the refund is going to depend on the situation. the people who were promised that $300 for the blue sky card, they're going to get that money. others are going to be reimbursed for late fees, plus interest, the cfpb website is a great place to go for more info. consumerfinance.gov. but they're putting up this red flag and saying it is amex responsible for notifying you. you shouldn't have to do anything. that if some weird entity says they'll handle the refund for

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highlighted his ability to work with democrats, warren, yeah, she wasn't having any of that. >> he goes around this country and what he says to people around this country is that they should contribute to his campaign because if he's re-elected, that increases the odds that the republicans will control the senate and that he can block president obama's agenda. so let's just be honest about what's going on here. >> senior congressional correspondent dana bash, our guide, this week as we check on the key races. we have been following this race. it is already -- it long since has gotten personal. last night, kicked it up a notch. >> reporter: oh, my, sure did. i was in massachusetts doing a story on this race this summer and talked to both candidates. and it was already going to be an intense race. and it was already clear then that this -- these two -- let's be honest, these two people not only are they running against each other for a seat they don't seem to like each other. that was incredibly clear with the sound bite you just played,

but also clear with this -- maybe the line of the night, which came from scott brown. listen. >> if you're going to comment on my record, i would at least have you refer to it -- >> excuse me. >> go ahead. >> i'm not a student in your classroom, please let me respond, okay? thank you. >> reporter: the back story there is not just the obvious, which is that was a zinger, but scott brown goes around calling her professor warren, trying to make her seem out of touch, and somebody who is not -- doesn't really get the people of massachusetts because she was in her ivory tower at harvard and that's her knowledge of massachusetts. and on the flip side, you know, elizabeth warren is trying to make clear what is her political responsibility to make clear is that she's in massachusetts, and scott brown is a republican, and frankly telling the people of massachusetts he doesn't belong there, they should send a democrat to the senate. >> and elizabeth warren, you know, trying to tout her ability to walk across the aisle by

partisan credentials but fumbled the question here. what happened? >> reporter: what happened is that scott brown says ad nauseam how independent he is and that's how he's trying to win as a republican in massachusetts and the last thing they need is a liberal democrat, they need somebody to cross party lines. >> probably richard lugar would be one that would come to mind. he's not going to be there. >> who else could you name, senator? >> that is a problem. let me -- >> it was hard to hear what she said. she said she would work with senator richard lugar of indiana, he's not going to be there. whoever is going to be there next year, because he's retiring at the end of the year. >> here is another oh when you're watching. scott brown was asked to name his model supreme court justice and that was a bit of a strange answer. >> it sure was. scott brown is a lawyer, he talks about that, and he is somebody who, again, is trying

to walk that line, saying he's in the middle and doesn't necessarily work when you're talking about supreme court justices. so listen to that answer. >> let me see here, that's a great question. i think justice scalia is a very good judge. justice kennedy. justice -- justice kennedy is obviously very good and justice roberts there, justice sotomayor, i think they're very qualified people there who actually do a very -- >> scalia and sotomayor don't exactly -- >> that's the beauty of being an independent. >> that was an interesting moment for a couple of reasons. one, he said the word scalia in massachusetts which you saw the reaction there, and then tried to walk back to sotomayor, who is a nominee of president obama. and, you know, david gregory called him on that. big picture, though, this is a marquis senate race because of the personalities, they're both kind of iconic figures at this point, but it is also as we have

been talking about this week, so important to the balance of power because republicans really, really need to hang on to this seat because if they don't, it will be yet another seat they need to pick up in order to get their goal of retaking the senate in november. >> balance of power, we're watching it very closely. yesterday, missouri and maine. today, massachusetts. we shall see what tomorrow brings. dana bash, see you then. thank you very much. the steady drumbeat to get u.s. troops out of afghanistan ahead of schedule is now getting louder. fueled in part by the deaths, murders of nato troops by afghans they are training, so-called green on blue attacks have claimed nearly 50 lives thus far this year. and the killings, they're taking a toll on the troops in the field. here is what nato's secretary-general told britain's guardian newspaper just this week. quoting here, quote, there is no doubt insider attacks have undermined trust and confidence, absolutely. the secretary-general told the guardian nato's withdraw could come sooner than expected and

those attacks have also frustrated, angered those who lead the troops. just this past sunday general john alan, the isaf commander, voiced his frustration on "60 minute minutes". >> i'm mad as hell about them. we're going get after this. it reverberates everywhere, across the united states. we're willing to sacrifice a lot for this campaign, but we're not willing to be murdered for it. >> with the headline that one in the guardian, proclaiming the withdraw could be sped up and with general alan saying, mad as hell about the attacks, i can't help but remember the words spoken right here on this show with we two weeks ago by a father still very much so mourning the loss of his son, a result of one of those green on blue attacks killing. i talked to greg buckley sr. about his son, what justice would look like, how it could be served in his son's murder. >> justice is to let the other young men and women come out,

leave them alone. you know what, it goes like this, if you want to come over to my house and i don't want you there, you won't come. they don't want us there, why be there? our government tells us that they want us there. they don't. there is so much more involved that i know, it is not even -- i don't even want to get into it now with you, but it will all come out soon enough. but the end of the day, my justice is to another parent wouldn't feel the heartache that i feel. i'm done inside. they tore my whole heart out. i have a hard time going to bed. i think about him every day, every minute, his brothers kill me when i look at them because they're hurt, his mom is hurt so bad. but they didn't just take my son. they destroyed my family. and i don't want other families to feel the pain i'm feeling. i don't want to see another family out there see their son being brought back on a plane and being rolled off a plane in a box with an american flag around it. but you know what, it was our

government that dropped the ball and they won't admit it. this boy should have been protected inside a military base. we're training people and my son said, dad, we're training people that are going to turn the weapons on us and kill us. that's he clear as day. i thought it was the most outrageous thing i ever heard. but he said, i'm telling you, dad, they're going to kill us. >> one of those interviews i will never forget. his son, greg buckley jr., was gunned down by an afghan policeman who was supposed to be his friend. it happened just this past august. greg buckley was all of 21 years old and just days, days from leaving afghanistan and coming home. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world...

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just into us here at cnn, it turns out one of the biggest mysteries of the 20th century remains a mystery. we're talking about the story, the remains of missing teamsters boss jimmy hoffa. remember this search? under a driveway. roseville, michigan. this was on friday. they tested the soil samples, we have now learned no presence of human remains found in the soil samples from the hoffa dig in roseville, michigan. so the search continues. he's been missing since 1975. moving along, the birth place of the arab spring is now the backdrop to a case of alleged corruption. so severe, you can see women are coming out in full force to protest. look at this. they are angry because of this story, this one woman who says police officers raped her and when she filed a complaint, guess what happened? she was charged with a crime. cnn's atika shubert has her story.

>> reporter: the alleged victim was parked here with her fiance when three policemen ordered the couple out of the car. she says one stayed with her fiance. the other two put her in the car and took turns raping her, as they drove through the streets. her fiance, she says, meanwhile, was being extorted by the other policeman in order to be set free. her identity protected, she recounts what happened. they raped me for one hour and 15 minutes while driving, she said. finally, we reached a place next to a school at a factory. my car was there, and the third policeman was standing next to it. i asked them to let me go, and the policeman told my fiance we will fabricate a charge of adultery and you will spend years in prison, she said. her ordeal a month ago brought hundreds of protesters out on to street, outraged not just over the alleged rape, but also over what happened next. half an hour after the incident, the couple came to this police

station to file a complaint. then the police accused them of being, quote, in an immoral position, charging them with, quote, intentional indecent behavior, punishable by up to six months in prison. i broke down, she said, it devastated me psychologically. this case has made me have convulsions every day. i keep thinking about one thing, to kill myself. i can't accept my life after what has happened to me, she said. tunisia is the birthplace of the arab spring, but the islamist led coalition now in power is grappling with a draft constitution that does not afford equal rights to women. now this case is proving to be a flash point. the three policemen are to be tried on charges of rape and extortion. and the woman at the center of it all is putting her faith in the law.

i address all women in tunisia and elsewhere who face such cases, they shouldn't remain silent because if you remain silent, you will suffer forever, she said. at least when you fight it, you will get your rights. this will help to ease the suffering that you live with, and when you see them in court, when i saw them handcuffed, i felt happy. and when they face trial, i will in my heart feel some relief, she said. now her legal battle will be closely watched at home, and abroad. atika shubert, cnn, london. >> atika, thank you. she broke barrier and became the first woman to moderate a presidential debate. now, 20 years later, carole simpson provides her insight into tomorrow night's debate and why she told me it is really more about style than substance. try this... bayer? this isn't just a headache. trust me, this is new bayer migraine. [ male announcer ] it's the power of aspirin plus more in a triple action formula to relieve your tough migraines. new bayer migraine formula.

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we went deep into the vault for this one here at cnn. the date was october 15th, 1992,

presidential debate nearly 20 years ago to the day. you remember this? >> the candidates are the republican nominee, president george bush, the independent, russ perot, and governor bill clinton, the democratic nominee. my name is carole simpson and i will be the moderator for tonight's 90-minute debate. >> 90-minute debate she says. that is carole simpson then and here is carole simpson today. once again, the lady in red. carole simpson, amazing seeing you here, 20 years later, welcome. you know, all kinds of history made that night, you and i were talking in the commercial break, people recognizing you all around the world in the 20 years since. and it was unique about that night, the three debaters, not the usual two, you had, my goodness, questions from the audience, you had yourself, you're first woman to host a presidential debate. i mean, just, if i may, first question, perspectivewise, you presided over history, did you

not? >> i did. and that was the most exciting -- it was the pinnacle of my career to be able to moderate a presidential debate. that's like every reporter's dream in washington is to have that opportunity. so i was thrilled. and i don't like you talking about digging way deep into the archives. you're making me so old. >> sorry, carole simpson. you look amazing. you look amazing. i hope i can look as amazing. let's fast-forward, let's fast-forward 20 years later, because you've been a twitter -- you've been tweeting about these debates looming now. i checked out your twitter page. your most recent tweet was this. debates will be about style, not substance, despite what campaigns say. does he look and sound good? is he personable? that is your winner. >> there is always something. people, after i did the debate, would come and tell me that they were concerned about things that

the candidates did. >> like what? >> not what they said. >> like looking at a watch? >> like -- george bush looking at his watch, and standing near his stool the entire debate. and bill clinton wading right up to the audience questioners, and showing his compassion and his feeling for these people. and it jumped through the screen. and i've had people -- i've had people, you know, these days telling me, i want to see how they do. >> that was former debate moderator, former abc news anchor carole simpson speaking with me a short timago. we'll post the whole interview on the blog, so go to cnn.com/brooke to watch that. tomorrow night, the big night, we'll all be watching. see the first presidential debate right here on cnn, special coverage begins at 7:00 eastern. some people would call him brave. others might call him crazy.

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hi there. today on the help desk we're talking about adjusting your investments during retirement. with me this hour are liz miller and greg mcbride. greg, listen to this question. >> i'm recently retired. young retiree at 56. i still have my 60/40 equity bond allocation. should i be investing any differently now that i'm not a working person?

>> and there are lots of choices out there, right, greg? >> there are. i like that equity bond split that she has, the 60/40. only thing i would recommend if she hasn't done already is sprinkle in alternative investments, things like precious metals or real estate investment trusts for better diversification. but as a young retiree at 56, i like that i like that bias toward equities because that's going to preserve her buying power and keep her protected from inflation. >> what about gold? >> it's nice for a diversification. it does not produce income. i like maybe 5% of the portfolio in that, again, just as a way to diversify. a nice hedge against inflation. it's not going to produce income like other investments such as dividend paying stocks and bonds will. >> anything other you can suggest? >> i think 60/40 was good for her before retirement, that's good to stick with. but at her age i would see clients pushing more towards 70/30. she easily may be funding, 40, 45 years ahead of her of life.

so she may need more allocations to growth opportunities. >> great advice. if you have an issue you want our experts to tackle, upload a 30-second video of your help desk question to ireport.com. ally bank. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

next monday this guy known as fearless phoenix is going to jump in a balloon, fall in a pressurized space suit. if he survives, it will be a world record. chad myers, yikes. why? how? >> what's even better is he is going to break the speed of sound on the way down. all sky divers are going you can't do that. terminal velocity's 120 miles per hour. you can't go faster than that. but if you're 23 miles in space, there's nothing slowing you down. there's no air up there. there's no there there. he at least for a time will be going faster than the speed of sound and get more drag as the air slows him down on the way. should take between 15 and 20 minutes. he's done close before. he's done 18 miles. he's going to go 23 miles high, 120,000 feet in space and jump out of this thing and then land in a parachute.

>> i have so many questions about what this would do to your body, your lungs, your blood. >> we have five days to figure that out. >> we have five days to figure it out. we'll keep that conversation going. and we're going to talk about fearless fee lix again. thank you, chad myers. appreciate it. ♪ ♪ [ man ] excuse me miss. [ gasps ] this fiber one 90 calorie brownie has all the moist, chewy, deliciousness you desire. mmmm. thanks. [ man ] at 90 calories, the brownie of your dreams is now deliciously real. [ female announcer ] and now, try our new chocolate chip cookie 90 calorie brownie.

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looks like that could be an issue in the election. should mitt romney make it one? >> that's the question, brooke. as you know politico's done some great reporting as there's real tension in the romney camp as to capitalize on the issue or just stay on the economy. it's the economy, stupid. but obviously the attack in libya has become a hugely politicized issue. you can see it from both sides. today the chairman of the house oversight committee came out with a letter saying that the united states government had denied repeated requests for more security at the consulate in benghazi and listing 13 incidents that had happened over the past six months that he thinks were warning signs that were ignored. so he's going ahead with that. and he's going to bring congress back to have hearings next week on this issue. no question this has become a political issue and in terms of hearings, coming at a very bad time for president obama and the democrats. >> something to look for possibly if not tomorrow night in denver in that debate down the road for sure. as we talk libya, we talked a

lot, erin, on your show and my show, about afghanistan. but if you look at iraq where the president ended u.s. combat relations and he's touted that, they're having huge problems there. >> it's amazing. as you talk about it, last week at his speech to the u.n. general assembly, the president went through a list of what he considered to be his big victories, osama bin laden being dead was one and ending the war in iraq was another one. september was the deadliest in terms of attack since august of 2010, which is pretty shocking since the war is technically over. on top of that reuters has some footage that we have for you of literally pictures of the iotolla from iran. pictures all over iraq now as iran is trying to gain and perhaps succeeding at gaining more and more power in iraq. this is a big question that obviously is going to be a problem for whatever president's next but not something president obama wants to be talking about right now. >> with iran obviously they're having sort of its own singular

way inserting itself in the elections. we heard from ahmadinejad last week and heard from netanyahu literally drawing that red line on the metaphor kal bomb. >> right. >> could we hear from iran between now and say november 6th? >> well, this is pretty amazing. obviously when prime minister netanyahu spoke, there was a sigh of relief. not just in the obama administration but many who said, look, the deadline is next spring, next summer. there isn't going to be a possible israeli military strike before the election. but iran is doubling down. just today prime minister ahmadinejad back in tehran gave a press conference. and he said this, brooke, i'll quote him "we are not people to retreat on the nuclear issue. if somebody thinks they can pressure iran, they are certainly wrong and must correct their behavior." at least in terms of words, which actions are more important than words, but in terms of words not backing down at all. from is going to be the crucial question for the next president whether it's barack obama or mitt romney. >>